Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Five days plus late nights equals a whole lot of fun. Stone and I where recently on the road to Nashville where the University Of Tennessee mens Basketball competed in the SEC basketball tournament.

Printers Alley

Printers Alley is home to numerous bars and ugh, ewww, adult entertainment. Neither of these did we attend. It's funny that all the trips I've made to Nashville over the years and I've never heard of Printers Alley.

Along Printers Alley

Tootsies Orchard Lounge, a legendary Honky Tonk bar features live music and is where some of the worlds greatest songwriters and country music legends have spent time, including Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and numerous others. On November 13, 2014 Tootsies celebrated 54 years of being in Nashville, Tennessee. While in town, Stone and I spent many hours at Tootsies dancing the night away, song after song as he twirled me all over the dance floor.

Band at Tootsies Orchard Lounge.

Tip Off

UT vs. Vanderbilt

UT vs. Vanderbilt

Following our time in Nashville, we drove to Atlanta to visit the girls and of course Jimmy, my favorite son-in-law. With the weather being nice, we walked everywhere we went, which I always love. A body in motion stays in motion. Soon after our arrival we had a quick lunch and then were off to the High Museum Of Art https://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Gordon-Parks-Segregation-Story.aspx, where Africa American Artist Gordon Parks Segregation Story exhibition was on display. Parks, a photographer and writer for Life magazine, became "one of the most provocative and celebrated photojournalist in the United States."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Parks

While walking on the Atlanta BeltLine, Abby Gail, Malia, Stone and I stopped to look around in this shop along the trail. This adorable little guy just laid there, happy to be at work with his owner.

Monday, March 9, 2015

I am a huge fan of syrup infused cakes. The first one I had ever eaten was a Lemon Polenta Cake that my friend Jhumpa had made. Although it still remains my all-time favorite, this ultra-moist Orange Syrup Cake with Candied Oranges is definitely a keeper.

Orange Syrup Cake with Candied Oranges

Makes: 1 (10") cake-10-12 servings

Orange Cake Ingredients:

4 oranges, zested

1 lemon, zested

14 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

10 ounces almond flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature

pinch of salt

Syrup Ingredients:

3/4 cup orange and lemon juice ( squeezed from the zested citrus)

6 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Candied Orange Slices Ingredients:

1 orange

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup water

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350'. Spray a 9-10" springform pan that was lined with parchment paper with baking spray.

2. Grind the citrus zest in a food processor with the 1 1/2 cups of sugar until it's finely ground.

3. In a bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter with the zest-infused sugar until well-combined.

4. In a separate bowl measure out the almond flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Stir together.

5. Add half of the almond flour mixture to the butter, then add the eggs one by one, stopping the machine a few times to scrape the sides down. Then add the remaining almond mixture, stirring just until incorporated.

6. Scrap the batter into the pan. Level the top of the batter, and bake the cake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out relatively clean, but a little moist.

7. While the cake is baking, make the syrup by heating the 3/4 cup citrus juice and 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar is dissolved, then set aside. When the cake comes out of the oven, brush the syrup liberally over the hot cake. Let cool completely in the pan.

8. To candy the oranges, cut the orange into 1/4" slices. Put the slices in a nonreactive saucepan, and add enough water to cover them well, and bring to a simmer. Blanch the slices for ten minutes, or until they are tender and translucent.

9. Put the oranges back in the saucepan and add the 2/3 cup sugar and 2/3 cup water and cook the oranges at a simmer for about ten minutes, or until they are tender and translucent. Save the syrup, do not discard!

Serving: Serve slices of the cake with whipped cream, and a slice of candied orange along with some of the syrup from when you candied the oranges.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Twice a year CAbi comes out with their new line. The Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. My friend/CAbi Consultant Helen phones and we schedule a date for the showing. I then invite guests and plan a menu. I usually have my showing on a Saturday morning, therefore I do a small brunch. The ladies arrive, we mingle, eat and Helen presents the new line of clothing. Following the presentation there are lots of trying on, decisions, girl time and the ladies giving each other their opinion as to what looks good. My family knows I'm not one who enjoys going out and shopping for clothing. This is perfect. The cloths are brought to me. I do not have to leave the house and walk the malls, which I HATE! Actually, the clothing arrives early and I try on each piece for my husband. With his help we make a decision. He's really good at this. We make a yes, no and a maybe pile. Each season the yes pile is huge because the CAbi line of clothing has a timeless design. The clothing is created to mix well with previous and future pieces, therefore you are alway mixing and matching pieces to change it up.

Don't all husbands say this?

Walnut & Apple Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup grated apples, (I use my large grater for this).

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 Tablespoon melted butter

1/2 cup walnuts

1 Tablespoon Sparkling Sugar or Turbinado Sugar (optional)

Icing Ingredients:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 375'.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, lightly mix together oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Do not over-stir. Fold in apples. Pour into a pan sprayed with baking spray. and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until combined. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter in the pan.

Using a wooden spoon or spatula, lightly press most of the topping about halfway down in to the batter. Leave some on top.

For those more health conscious I had a tray of strawberries and apples. I just had to dip some of the strawberries. Hey, a little chocolate never hurts anybody and one must always have a little sprinkle in their life. My children would all agree.

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About Me

I was born Brenda Johnson but my family calls me Aunt Bee. I was raised in a small Texas town: one red light was all it had. I believe now there are two. The youth would spend their time driving what we called the drag. Those were the good old days. When I wasn't driving, I was cooking. My mama taught me everything I know. She is still such a wonderful cook. She would prepare dinner then let my sister and I make dessert. My mother's cooking style was very southern and all Southerners know there is nothing better than biscuits, gravy and fried chicken. My mama was good at all of these. After moving to Tennessee, I, like my mother, cooked fried foods and casseroles for my four children. Since the children have left the nest, it's only Stone and I at home. I now cook many different things - my favorite being desserts. There is nothing wrong with a little butta and suga to complete a good meal. In the words of Julia Child, "a party without cake is just a meeting."

Besides cooking, I have a true passion for traveling. Now that the children are all grown up, Stone and I started traveling more - both domestically and internationally. I greatly enjoy learning about the local history, the different cultures and customs and, of course, the various types of ethnic foods.

I love to cook, travel, have dinner parties and share my recipes and happenings with friends and family. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures and dinner parties and you'll take my ideas and incorporate them into your own dinner gatherings.